The Town Under the Crimson Moon
by TakuyaSamaKun
Summary: Four years have passed since Ib attended Guertena's Art Gallery with her parents, but ever since then she felt like 'something' was missing. One tragic night, the Art Gallery suddenly caught fire, burning everything Guertena had created. Now hearing strange voices in her room, Ib decides to sneak out and head over to the abandoned gallery in hopes of figuring out who is calling her
1. A Forgotten Past

Chapter 1  
A Forgotten Past 

It happened four years ago, when Ib and her parents visited the Guertena art gallery. Ever since then she could never recall this strange feeling. Like something was missing from her life. _But what?_ No matter how hard she tried she just couldn't remember. Every now and then Ib would have these strange dreams. The kind where everything seemed real. In her dream was of a young man in his early twenties, wearing a large blue coat, along with brown pants and green shirt. Ib had no idea who he was but she had this strong feeling that she knew him. And the gallery.. the paintings.. the very thought sent shivers down her spine. It felt more like a nightmare, like being trapped in another world. But there was also one more person. A girl, who looked about the same age as her, but all she could remember was the girl's long blonde hair. These gaps in her memory bothered her at times where she would spend hours trying to figure out what _Really_ happened at the gallery. 

"Oh no! This is horrible!" Sounding shocked, the voice came from the living room. 

"What is it dear?" 

"This is terrible.." Ib's mother covered her mouth as she focused her attention towards the television. 

Ib who heard her mother from the kitchen came to see what the commotion was. Looking at the T.V she seen the news reporter behind a large crowd. 

"...Now there aren't any casualties but the great works of artist Guertena are burned along with the building. Not too long ag-" Cutting off, Ib's father turned off the T.V and sat down beside his wife. 

"All of his art.. it's so sad.." Disappointed, Ib's mother buried her face into the palms of her hands. 

"I know dear." Ib's father comforted his wife as Ib herself remained silent. 

Even though the news broke out, Ib felt like the gallery being burned wasn't real at all. It wasn't that she couldn't accept reality, but there was this nagging feeling that the gallery is still alive somehow. 

Leaving the living room, Ib went straight to her bedroom where she needed to complete last night's homework. 

A couple of hours had passed since she begun on her math homework, it was tricky work but she felt confident in her answers. Interlocking her fingers together, she raised both arms up in the air to get a good stretch. She needed it after sitting in one spot for so long. 

Checking the time, she could see it was now **9:40pm** , and that she needed to sleep in a few hours. Figuring that she had some spare time she would continue one of the novels she started not to long ago. Pulling open the drawer next to her bed, she opened the page where the book marker was and had begun reading the first line. 

_**We're friends, aren't we?**_

"..!?" Gasping at the sudden voice, Ib quickly scanned her surroundings but came to realize she was the only one. Obviously she was, but she could of sworn she heard someone's voice just now. 

"I'm just imagining it." Shaking her head, she concluded that it was just her imagination. There was no need to scare herself. Ib figured she was just tired, so she closed up the book and got up to changed into her pajama's. Then curled up under the covers and turned off the lights where she closed her eyes and slowly went to sleep. 

_**Come play, come play Ib!**_

Reopening her eyes, she quickly got up with her red orbs scanning the room once again. Turning on the lights she almost felt relived that there was nothing _. But that voice_ , she recalled in her head. Ib was certain that voice sounded familiar but from where? 

"The gallery.."

 **End Chapter**

Author's notes: Hello readers. I haven't been doing any writing for awhile. But I'm back with another project. As you guessed it, Ib. I plan to follow up on the ending "Memory's Crannies" since I've gotten that ending twice, haha. I hope you enjoy this one and I'll see you in the next chapter. -TSK 


	2. Old Memories

**Chapter 2**

 **Old Memories**

The time was now **10:52pm** , Ib had barely gotten any sleep since she heard voices. After knowing that it wasn't just her imagination, fear had taken control of her. Ib knew for a fact she wasn't going crazy but there was this feeling she should return to the gallery. There was really no reason in mind, she just had this strange desire to investigate.

 _ **Are you alright, Ib?**_

The voice grew more frequent and clear, as the girl sat down beside her bed. She was scared but the voices sounded familiar. Ib had tried to remember what the voices had sounded like but failed to grasp the missing memory. So she just sat at the end of her bed, thinking whether or not she should check out the gallery. She thought over how it would be a good idea to investigate during daylight but the whole place would be restricted from the public.

"Mom and Dad will be mad.." She uttered to herself in worry that her parents will discover that she snuck out.

Given a few minutes to rethink it over she had made up her mind and decided to investigate the gallery. Ib knew she wouldn't find anything special but for some reason the place itself was almost calling her. As if the gallery wanted her back. With the final decision, Ib quickly changed into her regular attire. Just as she was finished, Ib carefully opened the door in hopes her parents wouldn't hear her. Taking it slow, Ib made a few steps into the main hallway, completely muffed she continued down the hall where she ended up passing by her parents bedroom. Making her way, Ib slipped on her dark red shoes and carefully unlocked the locks on the front door. Her heart pounded as she slowly turned the knob. Pulling the door open but just enough for her to squeeze through, Ib closed the door behind her and locked it back up with the house key.

With a sigh of relief that she had made it outside, the girl turned and faced the empty street where there was not a single life in sight. It felt like the whole people in town had disappeared.

"Okay, here we go." She told herself as Ib walked across the front lawn and hit the sidewalk where she made her way down the street. Pulling her hood up from her black and red striped hoodie, she stuck her hands into the pockets of the sweater.

While on her way to the gallery she would think of the last time she was there. All Ib could remember were various paintings and sculptures created by Guertena but one piece of art she was particularly fond of was the large rose.

Making it at the end of the street she came into a four way stop; looking both ways for any cars and with none in sight. She crossed the street, where Ib walked down another few blocks then took a left turn at the end. The town she live in wasn't big nor small so getting around on foot never took long. The art gallery was on the other side of town and travelling by foot took about thirty or forty minutes. Maybe an hour at best. Which she didn't mind.

It wasn't till she had begun to get minor flashbacks of her time spent at the gallery, Ib could clearly remember the first time she walked through those doors. She could still remember how eager she was to check out the different pieces of art. Although at the time she couldn't read some of the titles or figure out the art's true meaning. There was one painting that she could barely remember, just the thought made her shiver. But no matter how hard she tried to picture the painting inside her head, the more she felt like her memory had been erased. It irritated her that she couldn't remember, but hopefully she'll be able to find the answers at the gallery. Ib would also think about the man in her dreams, _what was his name?_ She recalled in her head; over and over.

Making way through the town, she had passed by many closed shops, where she finally reached town center. Just in the distance she could see the gallery still standing. It's chard walls made it look like it was haunted by paranormal beings. But to Ib, it was just plain creepy.  
Turning around the corner and passing by an ally, the horn of a vehicle honked as the car quickly stopped right in front of Ib. Without any time to react she just stood there while the girl's heart tightened up. She could hear the sound of the door opening but since the front lights were blocking her vision, all she could see was a tall figure exiting the driver's seat.

"Hey!"

The sound of the man's voice startled her and by instinct, Ib began to sprint down the street, now running from the man behind her.

"Wait! Stop!"

But she couldn't. It was like her mom always said in the past, "Never talk to strangers" she took that advice to heart as she got older and started to realize that was world was messed up.  
Not looking back, Ib just kept running until she felt it was safe or at least when her lungs finally gave out. Just a few minutes before almost runned over, Ib found a place near the public park to catch her breath.

"..That.. should be.. far.. enough.." Talking through her short breathing, Ib's heart started to race from that quick sprint. Taking slow but deep breaths to steady her breathing, she checked the street both ways for that man's vehicle. With the all clear she headed up to 9th street where the gallery was.

Checking the time on her wrist watch, it was now **11:30pm** , which surprised her since she was almost on the other side of town. Walking up the road which lead right to the art gallery. Now standing in front of the gallery, the building itself was a lot creeper in person. The outer walls were burnt to a crisp, and parts of the roof had collapsed. Just being inside made her feel sketchy of the place, fearing that the rest of the roof will collapse right under her. Swallowing her fear, Ib placed her hand on the door and without thinking she pushed it open.

Inside she could see debris scattered around the main lobby but despite the gallery's poor condition Ib could clearly remember how it originally was before.  
Walking towards the front desk, her soft fingers rubbed against the burnt wood as nostalgic memories came flooding back. It was strange, but she could hear the voices and the company of the people who attended.

Sighing, the girl had begun to explore the rest of the building starting with the first floor. In the first room there was barely anything except for the burnt paintings left behind. She guessed they had no value anymore since they are beyond recognition. But the large one in the middle she could remember. Looking back at it, the painting was a large fish in the deep sea, along with the title..

"The Abyss of the Deep.." She recalled.

Back then, Ib couldn't fully understand what that meant but even now she had a good idea what the purpose was. Leaving the room she turned left down the hallway where many other paintings and sculptures scattered across the floor. Just walking over them made her feel bad for Guertena. All of his hard work and legacy being trampled on under the girl's foot.  
Coming into the room where the large rose was, she discovered that the beautiful rose was no longer there as she seen the large pile of ashes. It was disappointing for her, Ib was fond of that rose for some reason and seeing it being nothing but a pile of ashes broke her heart.

 _ **Come down, come down Ib!**_

Startled by the voice once again, Ib had nearly tripped over her own feet, and this time it wasn't a voice from earlier. Shaken up, the girl had begun to hear footsteps at the end of the hallway where she came from. Quickly she hid behind the corner where she seen the shadow of a figure illuminating from the moon's light. Not moving an inch, Ib watched the shadow closely as the person just stood there.

Ib had attempted to move back slowly; taking few steps back as her foot had crunched the frame of a painting underneath. Her heart pounded at an alarming rate by the sound she made and with her mistake the shadowed figure had begun to walk into her direction. Desperate to get away, Ib turned and tried to run down the opposite direction but tripped over the burnt frames. Landing on her knees and making even more noise, the sound of foot steps behind her had sped up as she seen a dark figure closing in.

Scared to death on what might happen to her, the feeling in her legs had lost due to the fear, so she just sat there, helplessly.

 **End Chapter**

Author's notes: Hope you enjoyed this chapter as I had fun writing it on my late nights. If anyone has any questions to the story or my inspirations & influences. Feel free to leave a message. And with that, I'll see you in the next chapter. -TSK


End file.
